Welcome To The Zoo
by Lord Ripplescales
Summary: After James and Lily went into hiding, the effort to defeat Voldemort was kicked into high-gear. They aren't going down without a fight, and if their allies have anything to say about it, they aren't going down at all. One-Shot


**Welcome To The Zoo**

**What if James had his wand on him when Voldemort attacked?  
>What if the Order had actually be proactive and began preparing for Voldemort's inevitable attack?<br>What if Dumbledore had decided to take off the kiddie-gloves? **

"Lily, run! I'll hold him off!" James roared at the top of his lungs, drawing his wand from its holster as he turned towards the door, ready to make his final stand.

With an explosion of wood, the door went flying inwards, the remnants of the purple curse which had been used to destroy it hanging in the air for a moment while James Potter gazed on in horror at the most feared dark lord to ever walk British soil.

Reflexes from years spent in the middle of a war, he snapped out of his brief moment of panic, instantly throwing the most powerful _Reducto_ he could at the ceiling right above Lord Voldemort's head, knowing that Lily and his son wouldn't be anywhere close to that area of the house.

With a crack, the floor collapsed, blocking the Head of the Ancient Potter Family's view of Voldemort, buying him precious few seconds to prepare to meet one of the most powerful wizards in England. And he used those seconds well.

He waved his wand calmly, quickly, efficiently - knowledge that he was the only thing standing between Voldemort and his family kept him from losing his cool. While weaker men may have cracked under the pressure, the thought of giving up or running never even crossed his mind. He would defend his family with his life, and he would win, even if it killed him.

This self-titled 'Lord' would learn why you shouldn't threaten a lion's cubs.

Within seconds, the room was full of vicious animals. Their couch became a ferocious bear, the family grandfather clock an eagle, a mug which had been tossed to the ground became a massive spider, and many more such animals filled the room.

As the Dark Lord blasted through the remains of what had been their ceiling, he came face to face with this menagerie of animals, all preparing to leap at him, with the wizard who had transfigured them all raising his wand, a faint smile on his face. As the Heir of Slytherin gazed around the room, he felt a strange feeling in his gut, something he hadn't felt in a long time. Fear.

However, Tom Riddle didn't get to where he was by backing down, and the feeling of fear quickly disappeared, replaced by his usual feelings of superiority. He was disgusted that he had even contemplated that a light-minded fool like James Potter could defeat him. Despite that, he didn't lower his guard for a second. One lucky shot is all anyone needs with magic. He'd killed enough people early on, before they learned to dread even the very mention of his name, to know not to underestimate any foe, no matter how weak they appeared.

"Ha! You're a fool Potter; you think you can take me on in single combat? Your little menagerie here is cute, but all it'll do is delay the inevitable!" The snake-like man hissed, finally coming to terms with the fact he may actually have a fight on his hands, as he began sending wave after wave of destructive spells towards the creatures pouncing upon him.

James merely smiled grimly in response, as he charmed the remains of the eagle, which had been blasted apart, to reform into two more eagles. He quickly cast the spell onto the rest of the animals, before being struck to his knees by a bludgeoning curse that knocked the air out of his lungs.

"I'm done with this pathetic showing. _Bombarda Maxima_!" Voldemort yelled, after several more seconds of ferociously ripping apart the creatures, his insanity evident by the crazed glee in his eyes as their surroundings exploded.

As the smoke cleared, James gazed with a sinking heart around the room. The walls were charred, and there wasn't even the slightest evidence that there had ever been any of the animals he had used so successfully as a distraction. As he looked across the room, peering deeply into the eyes of the man who had been hunting his family for months, he saw nothing but cruelty and cold pleasure in the Dark Lord's snake-like eyes.

"Avada Kedavera!" Voldemort roared out his favourite spell, his wand pointed at the man who'd dared to fight him. The spell left his wand at the same time as a flare of flame appeared in between him and James. The Dark Lord watched in shock as the phoenix who'd appeared just in time took the spell, falling to ash, where a small hatchling appeared from.

"Not this time, Tom." Albus Dumbledore, with his star-covered robes swirling and eyes lacking their usual twinkle, stated firmly. Approaching from the shattered doorway, in a flash he raised his wand and began casting a complicated chain of spells, all of which flowed together seamlessly from the old wizard's wand.

Voldemort , knowing that he was now trapped between two powerful wizards, decided to do what he thought was the smart thing and apparate, just to find a powerful anti-apparition ward had been erected around the house.

"You think we'd let you escape, when we have you nicely trapped?" Another voice said, coming out from around Dumbledore's back.

As the figure fully emerged, Voldemort grimaced – It was that blasted "Mad-Eye" Moody, his wand up sending curses. The Dark Lord was pushing himself to his limits blocking the spells being sent at him already, and adding Moody to the mix pretty much guaranteed he wasn't coming out of this fight cleanly. He could feel himself beginning to tire, his energy running out. He couldn't go on much longer; he had to end this NOW.

"Avada Kedavra!" He yelled, his wand pointed at Dumbledore, while his other hand was sending a wandless and wordless exploding charm at Moody.

In front of the "counter-less" killing curse appeared a large block of stone, conjured from nowhere. Only a powerful wizard or witch could do something like that, and none of the ones he was already dueling had lifted their wand to do it. Obviously someone else had joined the battle.

His prediction proved to be correct, as just moments later Professor Minerva McGonagall came into view. Glancing briefly over towards Moody, hoping his curse had impacted, while simultaneously raising the most powerful shielding charm he could, he very nearly cried out, as yet another powerful wizard had appeared, this time the Charms Professor at Hogwarts, Flitwick, a former dueling champion.

"You can't stop me, no matter how many people you have!" Lord Voldemort yelled with a bit of his former bravado, most of which had been lost as his defeat became more and more probable. As the last word left his tongue, what felt like a herd of elephants suddenly rammed into his back, sending him flying into the wall with a loud CRACK!

The Potter Patriarch grinned as he sent off another curse. The Dark Idiot's shields had finally collapsed.

Suddenly, Dumbledore cried out, much to the distress of the soon-to-be-deceased Voldemort, "Now, we mustn't mess this up! All together!"

The group of spell-casters linked arms, with the exception of Moody, who watched the fallen Voldemort for movement, his wand at the ready to block any curses sent at the now-chanting wizards and witches.

Voldemort, through sheer force of will, ignored the multiple broken bones and pulled himself to his knees, just to be slammed by another curse as he attempted to lift his wand. This wasn't how it was supposed to go! He wanted to cry out, hating being on the receiving side of the beat-down for once, rather than his enemies or his own followers.

From the staircase, Lily Potter had emerged, her wand raised and a look of concentration on her face as she activated the trap they'd prepared days ago.

A glowing circle of runes began to surround him, power flowing to them from the chanting mages, the runes a bright gold as they slowly but surely tightened around him. When they contacted his skin, it burned, and he screamed, a shrill, unearthly sound, which chilled the blood of those around. However, they persevered, and the chains, for that was what they are, began to constrict him, until, with a blinding flash of light, they exploded inwards, consuming the murderous Dark Lord.

As the assembled wizards and witches blinked away the spots in their eyes from the flash of light, a faint shadow was seen trying to drift away from where Voldemort had stood. Trying being the operative word, as the runes glowed golden again as he tried to pass them, locking the wraith inside the circle. At that moment, Moody, who had his eye charmed against bright light, raised his wand.

With a triumphant yell, the paranoid auror used a spell Albus had devised just for this scenario, a variant on the summoning charm which sucked the wraith of the Dark Lord into a Mason jar they had prepared beforehand.

"Did you really think that someone being interviewed for the Divinations post would give that convenient of a show at such a perfect time? We knew she faked it, but it appears the one who told you of it wasn't intelligent enough to connect those dots," Came the final words Voldemort would ever hear from the man he'd thought he would be able to kill so easily at the start of the night.

With a final cry emanating from the jar, Moody slammed the lid on, the protections on the jar ensuring that the wraith was trapped until they could deal with the Horcruxes that were left floating around.

-oOoOo-

Regulus Black, Sirius's previously estranged brother, having nowhere else to turn, went to Sirius in his time of need, with a strange tale of enchanted lockets, dangerous caves and injured house elves. Although Regulus initially refused to go to Dumbledore for help, at Sirius's insistence he finally acquiesced, which turned out to be the turning point in the war against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. The elderly headmaster instantly recognized the locket for what it was, having suspected such rituals and been looking into them ever since Voldemort's rise to power, and knew what it meant for the war.

After Regulus switched sides, he was able to freely supply the Order of the Phoenix with information that he'd gained from having followed the Dark Lord, including an interesting tidbit about one Peter Pettigrew. As outraged as they were that a man they had trusted, quite literally, with their lives was spying on them, the chance it offered was worth more than revenge. A couple of monitoring charms later and they were able to track him, sending them on high alert whenever he met with Voldemort, as each time could be the time he chose to tell the secret.

It had taken close to a year to complete the research necessary to come up with the plan to rid the world of the Dark Lord once and for all. Much of the success could be attributed to Lily Potter's tireless efforts. With access to the ancient Potter Library, a large portion of which was dedicated to spells designed for eradicating evil, it didn't take her that long to begin compiling a list of potential ways to get past Voldemort's Horcruxes. Many of them, however, required items from long-extinct creatures that had to be worked around, and by the time she found one she believed may work, several months had already been wasted. She couldn't complain, though. Hidden away in her home, she had nothing to do but research, and if it would end the war that had been dragging on, she would do it without complaint.

With a bit of help from her mentor, the part-goblin charms master Filius Flitwick, and some advice from Dumbledore, the brilliant red-head managed to construct the runes that would hopefully be able to trap and destroy the Dark Lord.

While the full extent of what the runes did was extremely complex and encompassed all sorts of possibilities, the general gist of how they worked was essentially a forced exorcism. Horcruxes were anchors to the world, that, after the one who created the Horcrux's had their bodies destroyed, could be used by the wizard to resurrect themselves. However, these were mere fragments of a whole. Being divided as such severely weakened all but the 'Master Soul', which turns into a wraith and is forced to wander until it can find/create a new body, be it by rituals or possession.

This means that, by trapping the master soul, as long as it isn't freed, one can keep the resurrection for occurring for as long as they manage to keep it locked up, or in other words, until they could destroy the rest of his soul containers.

-oOoOo-

It was simple, really, Dumbledore thought to himself, staring at the collection of items in front him. One not knowing the story behind them would be bewildered by the seemingly random assortment of things, from a jewelled cup to a diadem of all things.

Voldemort's Horcruxes couldn't have been more obvious. They were all closely linked to major points of his life, and had central themes. Investigation of the ragged soul they had trapped, with a bit of calculation and a lot of guesswork, had put Voldemort's number of Horcruxes at a minimum 4 and maximum 5, a small range.

It had taken longer to find them all than the aged Headmaster would have liked, but most of that was the Goblin's fault. It had taken all of his political sway, and that of his allies, to be allowed to search vaults of convicted Death Eaters. Once they'd gotten that permission though, it had taken less than a day to cast a standard Dark Magic detecting spell in each of Voldemort's lieutenants vaults, and only a few days more to sort through the copious amounts of dark artifacts to find the Horcruxes.

If he was to be completely honest with himself, he was rather disgusted that he hadn't realized the theme Voldemort would use with his soul containers. For one who'd grown up not knowing of magic, in an orphanage he hated, what meant more to him than items that made him think of the incredible way he'd escaped that dreadful place?

Once they'd completed their search of the vaults, they'd come out with an old diary and a cup to show for their efforts. The cup of Helga Hufflepuff, to be exact. While not exactly the best lead to follow, Dumbledore knew more about Tom Riddle than anyone else, having first taught him and later tracked his activities to the best of his ability. One thing that would have appealed strongly to the arrogant Dark Lord was desecrating the items of the Founders, as well as reminded him of the institution that had taught him magic. Having already had Voldemort's locket in their possession, the _S _on it suddenly took on a new meaning, and it hit Dumbledore like a bolt of lightning. Of course – _S_ for Slytherin.

After all of this, it was relatively easy, Dumbledore mused, to connect the dots. Obviously they would have to look at other items of the Founders. Gryffindor's sword had come out as clean, but a thorough scouring of the school and questioning of the House elves had yielded results in the form of Ravenclaw's Diadem, which had been hidden away in the so-called 'Come and Go Room'.

The last Horcrux had fallen, quite accidentally, into their laps. While looking for clues as to where other Horcruxes may have been hidden, they'd ended up at the Gaunt shack, which, to their surprise, had set off their Dark Magic alarms. A long search resulted in their gaining the ring, luckily avoiding a curse thanks to Lily's foresight to levitate it and keep it at a distance until they could check it over for protections.

"Hey old man! We have a victory feast to attend, let's get this show on the road!" An impatient James yelled at him, before getting smacked playfully over the head by his redheaded wife.

Receiving an amused glance from Albus, Lily grinned sheepishly and said, "I'm afraid I do have to agree with my tactless husband. We really do have to get a move on."

"Yes, my apologies, forgive an old man for his contemplation," Dumbledore responded, twinkle blazing full force in his bright blue eyes.

Before the happily-married young couple could say anything more, Dumbledore turned and began to stride away, pausing after going several feet from the Horcruxes, near the Potters.

"Is the portkey ready?" He asked. There could be no mistakes here.

James and Lily shared an amused glance. "Yes, you've had us 'double-checking' it for the past three hours. We're ready as well," Lily answered.

"Alright," He paused, eyes glistening. After so long, the dark lord could finally be put out of their minds and they could move on with their lives.

"Goodbye Tom. You had so much promise. It's a shame it had to end this way. But the light will always come out in the end, just as good shall always triumph over evil," Dumbledore said finally.

Pointing his wand steadily at the small line of Horcruxes, he released a stream of Fiendfyre, which quickly turned into a blazing phoenix. The phoenix hovered in the air momentarily, before diving at the Horcruxes, consuming them in a massive flash of light and a large bang.

Mere moments after casting the spell, the headmaster of Hogwarts had already turned and walked the final few steps to the Portkey, grabbing it alongside the Potters and beginning their journey back to Hogwarts for their feast. He had no desire to look at the destruction of the last bits of one of the most promising students he'd ever had, and one of his worst failures as a teacher and mentor.

After all, though, Dumbledore thought with a slight smile playing on his lips. What was that which young Sirius Black had always been telling him when the lad had gone to Hogwarts? Oh yes - Cool guys don't look at explosives.

-oOoOo-

It was a good day, the sun was shining, birds were singing, and a certain soul had gone on, hopefully, to the hell it deserved.

Voldemort would not bother anyone ever again, and their society could finally rebuild in peace.

-oOoOo-

**Author's Note – Please review! I have some things I'd like to add to it but here we are. May end up re-posting with changes eventually.**

**Yes, it is a bit AU, but that's my take on how Horcruxes (at least in my mind) work, or *should* work. **

**Think about it. He had '7' Horcruxes. And yet you're telling me that these so-called Soul Anchors had to rely on the main soul, or 'Master Soul' as it's referred to on the Harry Potter Wikia, to regain a body? As far as I see it, if that master soul could be destroyed somehow, the rest of them would lose their hold and disappear. However, since I can't think of a way other than 'WOO FOUND COOL RITUAL THAT DESTROYED THEM ALL CONVIENANTLY', the second best thing would be to trap it until all of the Horcruxes could be found and destroyed. I'm sure, with all of the obscure magic out there, something could be used to scan for incredibly dark magic like a Horcrux. They know Fiendfyre works, could just cast that in an isolated place and apparate out once it's been destroyed.**

**Also, no, I did not forget Nagini, or Harry. Nagini was made into a Horcrux AFTER Voldemort's fall (While Harry was in Third Year). Harry didn't reflect the killing curse in this story, they defeated Voldemort before he had the opportunity to.**

**#CoolGuysDontLookAtExplosions**

**There's my take on it. Hope you enjoyed, PLEASE review. All criticism is welcome, so long as it's constructive – I'd like to improve.**

**May do a follow-up to this little one-shot to show the new-and-improved world as Harry grows up without death eaters (An active Dumbledore + Lord Potter + Lord Black could add quite a bit of pressure for honest trials of 'Imperiused' death eaters), and that's not even going into whether or not they were able to save the Longbottoms, which in this story I highly doubt they WOULDN'T have saved 'em). **


End file.
